OpenGL is a graphics standard and API which targets the desktop and workstation markets. It is designed to be easy to accelerate with dedicated computer hardware, and hence most implementations give greatly improved performance over traditional software rendering. Currently, OpenGL is used for applications like CAD software and computer games. It is also cross-platform. The OpenGL standard is controlled by the Khronos group, which also controls OpenGL ES.
OpenGL (Open Graphics Library) is an API used to interact with GPUs (Graphics Processing Units). Originally developed by SGI (Silicon Graphics Inc.) in the early 90's, the current API is being developed by the Khronos Group.
OpenGL is platform independent and available for desktop, workstation and mobile devices. It is designed to provide hardware-accelerated rendering and is typically used for applications such as CAD software and computer games.
When posting in the opengl tag, remember to always specify your target OpenGL version in order to get more precise answers. OpenGL ES (OpenGL for Embedded Systems) has its own tag - opengl-es (with specific version tags for opengl-es2 and opengl-es3.
Official Documentation
- The Red Book - Tutorial GL
- The Orange Book - Tutorial for GLSL
- The Green Book - Tutorial for GLX
- The Blue Book - API references for GL (out of print; replaced by online reference pages)
- The White Book - Tutorial for WGL
Successor
Khronos Group announced vulkan API at GDC (Game Developers Conference) 2015. Vulkan, previously known as glNext or the "Next Generation OpenGL Initiative", is widely thought of as the successor to OpenGL and shares many similarities to the mantle API. It is a complete redesign aimed to unify the OpenGL and OpenGL-ES API's into one common API that is not backwards compatible.
External resources
- OpenGL.org, the home of OpenGL.
- The OpenGL Registry is the source for OpenGL headers and specifications.
- The OpenGL Wiki, a wiki that contains OpenGL tutorials and documentation.
- The Khronos group, the consortium that controls the OpenGL standard.
- MechCore Wiki, a wiki with a modern OpenGL FAQ, and code samples.
- OpenGL Wikipedia Article
- The Vulkan API (OpenGL successor)
Release Dates
- OpenGL 1.0 - January 1992
- OpenGL 1.1 - January 1997
- OpenGL 1.2.1 - October 1998
- OpenGL 1.3 - August 2001
- OpenGL 1.4 - July 2002
- OpenGL 1.5 - July 2003
- OpenGL 2.0 - September 2004
- OpenGL 2.1 - July 2006
- OpenGL 3.0 - August 2008
- OpenGL 3.1 - March 2009
- OpenGL 3.2 - August 2009
- OpenGL 3.3 - March 2010
- OpenGL 4.0 - March 2010
- OpenGL 4.1 - July 2010
- OpenGL 4.2 - August 2011
- OpenGL 4.3 - August 2012
- OpenGL 4.4 - July 2013
- OpenGL 4.5 - August 2014
- OpenGL 4.6 - July 2017
